Stealth weeding

This has nothing to do with quilting but a lot to do with life in Nerima.

Here is a picture taken from outside my front gate.

My little set-back garden is on the left inside the low brick wall. It includes a cut-leaf maple (low and leafy), a vine-leafed maple (tall and out of control), tiger lilies pushing out above the azalea bushes, enkianthus, and the plum (apricot) planted to celebrate our first daughter's birth.

One can view the lovely job the city did of paving the road and leaving my little flower strip below the wall.

Every morning I sweep the street, starting at my gate and then the house to the north and the whole street to the south as far as this picture shows.

Sweeping the street makes a big difference in the way those passing through respect the neighborhood.

The neighbor to the south is a librarian and works 30 minutes away, going out each day by car. Her bright red car spends the night parked beyond the wall behind the plum tree. The van parked on the right belongs to someone living in the 3rd floor apartment. (apartment dwellers do not clean as it is not their property).

To the south of the library lady is an elderly lady taking care of an even more elderly mother ... a full time job. She has lots of trees that drop leaves. flowers, seeds, fruit, all year around. She is very happy that I am taking care of our street.

At the end of the street on the right, there is an apartment with the door standing open. That is occupied by an elderly gentleman who is recovering from a stroke. Behind that apartment on the corner is a house occupied by a very elderly couple, and not seen on the left end of the street is a small house where up until a month ago, the wife ran a day-care in her home. (now she has found a place outside her home to run the facility).

  That green thing sitting on my step is my handy sweeper.  The little broom clips to the handle of the bin and is always ready to go.

As I return, I dump the contents into a plastic bag that hangs to the left of my door. You can see this is not a huge task just to keep the area looking clean and respectable.

I rather enjoy taking a few minutes each morning to step outside. Oh, yes, and as I go along, I pull a few weeds.
Often I chat with the neighbors too.

That chat brings us to the little parking area beside the small apartment. Until about four weeks ago, it was waist-deep in weeds. (Well, at least above the knees for me).

For years there have been signs posted by the neighbors that people pick up after their dogs ... but, let's face it ... I doubt anyone could find the poo among all those weeds. The other complaint was about mosquitoes.

I decided it was time to stop complaining and start acting, so each day I added to my little bin, weeds. I began with the wild grass that was about to go to seed. First I cut off the flower ends of the bunches and took them away. Then I pulled out the bunches one-by-one and disposed of those.

Next I attacked the leafy plants in the same way.

The ground is all made up of rocks so pulling the clumps of weeds brought up lots of rocks and dirt.  I had to bring some big bags to haul off the trash and plants (which I chopped into smaller pieces).

One lady came by and stopped to ask me if I was collecting herbs. I told her I was just removing weeds and she asked why ... they will just grow back.

I told her that was true if I allowed them to go to seed and we would have the neighborhood we deserve. Ah, that is true, she said and thanked me.

Last Sunday as I was pulling out the last row of weeds along the fence, the neighbor to the left came out with garden gloves on and helped to pull the last of that row. She said that mosquitoes were fewer and there had been no doggy-doo for weeks.

A parent with a child riding on the back of his bike passed through on the way to the pre-school and exclaimed to the child how much nicer the area looked.

The care-giver for the man with the stroke came out and handed me a chilled bottle of tea.

Yesterday the car-owner (who had exclaimed to my husband about how much nicer the area looked) drove off and left the lot vacant. I took the opportunity to finish off the section under and behind the car. No longer in stealth mode, I guess. The gentleman came out with his cane and finished off the weeds on his side of that fence saying the mosquito problem was much less. AND, no one is tossing trash into the lot any more.

The neighbors are standing out and visiting with each other. We all exchange pleasantries as we pass along the street. I checked with the flower shop lady as to what flower would grow best with least care and she recommended salvias. If you look closely you can see a row of five along the fence.

I still am working on the weeds behind the house of the elderly couple. It is a bit of a challenge because of the fence but the flowering weeds have been cut and another week may have that spot looking clean too.

Sunday's Sermon was about Matthew: 13 - 24, the man sowing good seed and it coming up among weeds. We take care of the good stuff and let God dispose of the weeds. Hmm, Have I been wasting my time? I just might look at my neighborhood as the good stuff. the trash and doggy-doo and mosquitoes have been taken care of as a result.

And, as to quilting, the pile of 4-inch blocks got too big for its zip-lock bag. Still no idea what to do with them but they have  been up-graded into a larger bag.

Celebrating friendship

Another star is being added to my collection of followers blocks.

Four inches for the center is always a bit of a challenge. This is supposed to be a compass.

This friend likes blue, green, and purple. (the green points look a bit off in the picture but in real life, they are identify-ably green)

For the star points, I tried to find fabric resembling a sunset.

Can you guess who this block represents? If not, go to All Points of the Compass and pay a visit to Jean.

Long ago I accompanied my husband on a business trip to New Zealand.  I got to do some sightseeing while my husband was working, and was impressed with the friendliness of all those I met along the way.

Around the time of that visit, my family of eight made a holiday trip to Shiobara, and in the resort area we met many young people from Auckland, which was their "sister city". It was New Years and those kids were working in the hotels, many earning money for college. They worked so hard until late at night serving the guests and again from early morning, always with smiling friendly attitudes.

Before we returned to Tokyo, my husband gave those youngsters his card and told them if they ever wanted a break in Tokyo, they would be welcome to stay at our house. From then began a series of visits from the most wonderful kids. We were even blessed to meet the parents of one of those youngsters. I think if New Zealand had wanted to send ambassadors, they couldn't have found better people.

Jean has only reinforced my attitude as all those who have passed through my life in Tokyo have done. Thanks Jean for your comments and warm friendship. New Zealand has more than sheep and beautiful scenery.

Another friend is remembered with a block.

One more block will be added to my growing collection of "followers blocks"

This one is for Janet, another of my long time friends. You may already know her because we seem to visit many of the same blogs.

In a way this was easy to decide on.
Janet is fond of bright and scrappy so I have made her block a rainbow.

The harder part was adding the Caribou ...crossing the block.
After all, her blog is Caribou Crossing Chroicles.

I tried another piece of the "Japanese taupe". It is soft and flexible but a bit tricky for details like antlers. I did this on the bus ride out to my English class and I think my fellow passengers were wondering what that strange foreigner was up to.   By the way, did you spot the Canada goose? I couldn't resist that one.

I might add to beware of bunnies, as they tend to multiply when given too much attention.  Sunday I was gifted two new bunnies. I'm not sure how they are to be used as they are a bit too light to make bookends.

They are cut from wood and just a wee bit tall to fit under the slanting eves above my pillow.

They were, however, welcomed by the rest of the gang. They are all sitting on the boxes that hold my Scout patches ... that too is a growing collection. I used to sew the patches from scout events on to a patch blanket but after two blankets. enough is enough. Still they keep coming, event after event. A number of them I even designed for the Far East Council.


Well, that is about it for today.  Thank you, Janet, for your continued friendship. This should make up for all the dog hair I send in your direction on the Northerly winds.

A little stitching brings out the sun

Other than hot and humid, the weatherman can't seem to make up his mind....

one minute sun, and then looming dark clouds and hard rain ... now it is back to sun

I thought I could make my own sun with another follower's block.

I decided to celebrate a long friendship with Debbie over at Woolensails. I have tried to add a link with no success but you can probably visit her by going to my side bar.

Debbie and I seem to have a lot in common. We even tend to visit the same set of blogs.

I thought of putting a little sailboat on the center square but opted instead for a bunny. My bunny is not wool or tea-dyed. Instead of two carrots, he is holding a heart. (well, this is about friendship) for the first time I used "Japanese taupe" fabric. I can see why it is so popular with Japanese quilters for applique.

I took the block up to my bed and my bunnies approved.

Here they are, sitting at the head of my bed.

The Knuffle bunny came from school ... needed for nap time. (and is it ever cuddly)!

 The black bunny followed me home from the Tokyo Dome quilt show a few years ago.

The Bluberry-Jambo-Bunny has been to 6 Nippon Jamborees, 5 BSA Jamborees, 2 Nippon Venture Jamborees, 2 AGONOREES (for handicapped Scouts), and one World Jamboree. He is also Woodbadge trained ... wearing beads and a scarf, and a Vigil member of the Order of the Arrow. The button blanket is his.    In a house where owls rule the roost, it is good for the bunnies to stick together.

Many thanks, Debbie, for your continuing friendship.

Thursday challenges

Last Thursday the choir went to a summer schedule ... meaning no Thursday night rehearsal.
I read in the Sunday bulletin that the Women's Fellowship would be holding a "Summer Coffee": "Be a Japanese Artist", Thursday at 10:30 in the library.

Mostly, because of the time it takes to
travel into town twice, I seldom take part in
these gatherings...

... but ... "be a Japanese artist" got my attention and I decided to go and find out how that was done.

I'm not sure what I expected ... maybe some ink and brush drawing ...

a craft... origami creation ... tie-dying ?

Well, when I arrived, the teacher laid out a lot of little colored pictures on two and a half by three and a half slips of paper and asked us to choose a picture.

I picked out the "Yamabuki" or Kerria  because I have a bush at home in my garden and know what it looks like.

We were then given a torn-out page from a coloring book and a choice of water colors ... paint pencils ... or crayons ... and told to copy the picture on the little slip on to the printed picture on the page. (and pay 100 yen)

Hmmm ... I guess I could do that. I chose the watercolors, which was a challenge because they were only black and white and primary colors ... I was lucky by then I had selected the kerria because those primary colors were not very true.

Did I become an artist?

At the left is a picture of some marigolds I painted very long ago when I was just a kid.

I painted two pictures then. The other was a rose and it hung in my parent's home for many years and now hangs in my brother's home

This one hangs in my genkan to brighten the entryway.


When I returned home and re-read the bulletin, I realized that there hadn't been any coffee.

I did get two 4x4 inch blocks completed on the trip into town and back.

 I did manage to finish one other item this week.

I had begun this tissue box cover to go with the sample toilet paper roll cover I thought might be a good plan for teaching in Tohoku. Actually, I think the box cover is a bit too ambitious for a beginner.

Well, our house has an open tank on each toilet so there is no place to set the tissue box in the rest-room.

I took it up to my bedroom and suppose it will live there until needed in some other place.

We are now awaiting what remains of the typhoon. Passing up from the south-west I suppose much of the power will be already spent by the time it arrives.

Rainy week activities

This has been a dark rainy week....
Sometimes heavy rain with loud crashing thunder and a very trembling, drooling dog at my feet.

A few more four inch blocks were added to my four inch collection. I have yet to decide what I will do with these eventually.  My one-inch box is getting a bit tight to close and these, I hope, will cut the stash a bit. Maybe I should be making the blocks larger but this is just about the right size for take-along work.

I arrange the squares between scraps of thinsulate batting and put them in a zip-lock baggie. This size block can be carried conveniently and finished on a train ride into town.

This week I also finished reading "Sarah's Quilt", the book club read for June by Nancy E. Turner.
I thought I might make the block for this book by copying the quilt on the book cover. Actually, not much of that quilt was shown but it seemed to be a lot of diamonds arranged into hexagons. It seemed a bit complicated to figure out for a 12 inch block.

Here is what I came up with. The dark paisley and white are to represent the windmills that were built to overcome the drought. (The small one was the damaged one and the dark, the new replacement.)

The nine patches represent the close family ties in the story, those homes where the story took place. I thought of using a log cabin piecing but at only three inches, the nine-patch worked better.

The reds are all different fabrics and they are joined to the rest with a small heart print.

The resulting block is rather bright and red but I hope it will work with the others. I have not laid them all out as yet. It is really to dark on rainy days for photos and the flash does not add much to the picture as you may note in the picture above.

Now I am waiting to learn the next book pick. Meanwhile I get the feeling there may be one more book added to this story. I hope so, because Turner can spin a really good tale from the first page to the last word.

The last picture is a "stealth flower".

The Magnolia is one of the first blooming trees in our neighborhood. It is setting buds for next spring's blooming already, and they usually open long before the first leaves appear. All winter we watch those fuzzy buds swell.

I guess some of those buds just couldn't wait for next spring because almost every tree has a bloom or two hiding among the leaves.

The power cord to my laptop gave up working and I am faced with a computer problem. The connector came with the computer from the States and in made in China and not sold in Japan. I can still charge the battery by setting the computer on the "audio station" but it can't be used while in this mode.

I wish Dell had made a stronger wire than the the one connected to the converter. I think the last laptop my husband had, died for the same reason. I can read e-mail on my call phone but I think my computer time has been severely cut.
Time to do some house cleaning? Sigh!

one more picture

Okay, this is what I will send in.

I have added the forgotten feet.

I wanted to try a picture with my canon to see if the color would be better and have spent the last few days hunting that camera ... the last two days very seriously.

I know I used it Monday night to transfer pictures of my 4-inch squares to my laptop. I did that sitting in my usual spot on the sofa and when finished, returned the little cable to the drawstring bag where it lives along with the spare battery and battery charger. I set the camera with the bag on the coffee table, made my post, and went up to bed ... since it had been a very early morning rise for rice delivery. The rest of the week until I began hunting that camera, I was not out of the house much except for choir practice Thursday night. My husband has begun sitting in my spot at both the dining room table and sofa, perhaps because all other places  (including his chairs) are piled to overflowing with his stuff.

Thursday even I began moving some of the stuff off the table and hunting my camera. Well, it was not on the table ... or under it, or behind the sofa, or beside the sofa, or moved to another horizontal surface or buried under fabric piles. All day Friday I took the house apart and it is nowhere that I can think of.

That made me recall things that disappeared while I was away travelling or at camp ... like the wooden tray on the trash bin counter. Now I am thinking it may have been pushed off the table into the wastebasket and tossed out with Wednesday's trash. (I went through today's collection material in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep and it was not there.) I am wondering if I will ever know what happened to it. Meanwhile during last night, Nikko went into my bag and dragged out my music for Sunday's anthem and ate more than half of it ... and she can't even sing!
I doubt that a camera would be on her menu but one never knows in this house.

Anyway, I tried another picture on my little canon IXY (that is the one that was purchased once before when my husband borrowed my regular camera and lost it.) The colors are a bit closer to those in the block.

I went back to Queenie's post and followed it to the NHK website information. It is all in Japanese and was too small on my screen for my husband to read so I tried the "translation". For anyone out there who translates for a living, your job is safe ... the English that appeared on my screen was just as confusing and meaningless as the Japanese and only good for a laugh. There is something about sending a pre-paid postcard along with a note. As I recall this year we were sent a printed card with a notation of which number quilt to locate one's block. All that was asked was for a note with name, address, telephone number, and email address. OK... I still have a bit over a month to get this out ... just don't leave it sitting on the coffee table or trash bin counter! Ah, life at the Fukuda household ... never a dull moment!
(Now you know what I loved most about working in a library... a place for everything and everything in it's place!

Done ... I think

Maybe I should have ironed this block before taking a picture. I was just trying to get a shot before the sun went down. As it is, the greens are not true. The leaves look gray and the back and upper wings look yellow. Maybe I should try again.

As it turned out, I didn't have room for all the feathers I cut and had to leave three out. Oh well, with so many blocks in one quilt, I doubt anyone will get too critical.

If you are interested in the details concerning the partnership quilt blocks, take a visit to Queenie.
She has been making blocks for years. Or, have a peek at the block made by Tanya.

It may just be that when you become friends with Queenie, you too will end up making a block. Now, wouldn't it be fun if our blocks all ended up in the same quilt?

Fixed!

Well, it seems I was not the only person giving negative feedback. Blogger has returned my list if blogs. It all makes me wonder what was going on. Was the change an accident or on purpose, and if on purpose... what was the purpose?

I think if they want to make improvements they could start with a feature to rotate photographs.

The last time I made a complaint, I was getting lots of pornographic videos in my blog feed. Believe me, that is something I would never follow and in fact, didn't know existed. It took about three days to get those removed. At the end of cyber-space there may be a human being.

Anyway, I'm glad it wasn't just me and enough complaints went out to get their attention.

With that frustration over, I have added another.

I have begun working on the block for the "partnership" quilt.

Last year Queeniepatch encouraged me to make one. This year she managed to talk Tanya into making one and both of them have finished already.

The subject of the blocks for this year is "Sweet".

Well, I was thinking of maybe gingerbread cookie people or maybe a taiyaki ... those bean-jam-filled fish-shaped things like waffles.

While I was still trying to decide, my husband suggested a hummingbird.

I am still not sure how I am going to do this. Maybe I should use Japanese fabrics and make a Japanese hummer. We have lots of flowers here that they would love and it is just a bit sad to see all those flowers without the birds.

So... this is how far I have done. If it doesn't come out... I can always go back to plan B or plan C.
I have until August to pull it off.

The latest edition of "Birds and Blooms"had lots of information on hummingbirds and even a picture of a pillow appliqued with two hummingbirds.... granted, a bit larger than this little guy on a 22 cm. block and all those tiny feathers waiting for needle-turning.

What do you think? Will it be sweet enough to meet the criteria?

While I was away......

Now What!!!

I returned home from camp Saturday and spent remainder of the day unloading the car and doing wash and putting things away.
I am happy to say there were 52 merit badge completions to file so I must have been some use while I was at camp.
The house was still standing and the plants were still alive. All horizontal surfaces were piled high with papers and clothing and who knows what as it is all in Japanese, dirty dishes waiting in the sink and the vacuum cleaner untouched.

Now some remedy has been made and there is at least a place to sit.

I thought I would take a cleaning break and check out the blogs I like to read and have missed the past week. WRONG!!!
When I go to my blog list, there is only one blog posted ... seemingly the most recent one.
Underneath there is a place to click on saying something like read more but when I click on that I get a very tiny message saying "loading" (which disappears when I release the key) and no matter how long I wait... no other posts appear.

Having a reading list I could scroll down was something that didn't need any "fixing"!

Anyone else out there having this problem or a solution? Today I have only been able to look at two blogs. (one each time I try). Bloglovin does come to my e-mail but I am unable to comment on many of those posts.
Why? I have no idea.

The only sewing that has been done is adding a few more blocks of one inch pieces.

I don't even know what I am going to make with them... maybe turn them into eight inch stars in some kind of arrangement.

Meanwhile I am thinking about my "partnership" block.
I asked my husband what he thought the word sweet might bring to mind and he said, "how about a hummingbird and a flower?"

This morning when I came downstairs, there was a pile of print-outs he had pulled from the computer. Nothing much that I could use, but then I opened my "Birds and Blooms" magazine that  my cousin sends me, and it is full of hummingbird information and pictures. Certainly that is something sweet that I have long missed living in Japan.
A plan is slowly forming in my brain. (and I will have lots of time if I can only read one blog a day!)

Quilting on the back burner

I am off today for a week in the woods with the Scouts.

Very few electrical connections and no internet.
Even cell phone connections are poor.

Nikko and I will share a tent and I hope to leave a ton of dog hair behind for nesting birds.

The bird and the plants will be taking pot-luck and the neighbors will be surprised to see how many leaves and trash litters the street on a daily basis (or weekly as the case will be).

Other than sorting fabric, nothing is done in the quilting department other than set aside some one-inch pieces for four x four blocks.

The picture was taken on my roof in a space behind the heating unit. This prickly pear cactus was given me by a neighbor when we lived in Suginami. He has a tall one on his front porch. This cutting  began blooming about three years ago and I usually miss the blooms because they open while I am at Scout camp.

Last winter was hard on all the outside plants but the Easter cactus came back several weeks ago and, though battered and bent, the prickly pear is joining in the celebration of spring.

Somehow this seems like the way my life is going, so is a good reminder to not give up, no matter where the chips fall.

Even from it's little corner ...

it seems to have it's arms and face turned upward ...



A plea?

A prayer of thanks?

Maybe a smile of encouragement?





I will carry it in my heart ... along with my blogging friends.
I hope you all have a fine week and there will be fun stuff to view upon my return.

Gift for a neighbor

At the end of last October, I posted this picture of a plant growing in my neighbor's garden.

Having a daughter with as much curiosity and more computer skills than I, it was soon identified as Euphorbia marginata ...  Common  English name of "Snow-on-the-mountain".

A week or so ago, as I was passing this garden on my way to the train station, the neighbor looked up from where she was working in her garden and called to me saying they had made me a pot of this plant and I would find it sitting outside their gate upon my return.

Sure enough, now it is sitting outside my gate and I am looking forward to watching the progress from green leaves in the spring to this autumn beauty.

I only know this couple in passing but wanted to make something as a thank you gift. Only problem, what might be useful? I don't even know if they have western style furniture. Well, probably they have a geta bako in their genkan. ( a place in their entryway for storing shoes). I checked the size of ours and made this little quilted runner, hoping it will do.

The pattern is "birds in the air" and makes me think of flying over their gate as I pass each day and enjoying all the flowers on display. Most of those are in pots and set out along their path to be enjoyed. (At present, a hibiscus with huge yellow flowers).

The size is about 12.5 x 21.5 inches. Hopefully a useful size.

Yesterday's English class included a quote from a newspaper article, "One small flower in a room changes the atmosphere. It sits there looking pretty and peaceful and creates beauty for people. Imagine the difference a person can make."

It brought to mind something that happened much earlier in the day. My husband Paul, dog Nikko, and I go out at 4:am each Monday to deliver rice balls to the homeless in Shibuya. The onigiri are made each day by our church as part of our "Mission to Our Homeless Neighbors". I seldom help with the production but I have been delivering the packs to the station area for about 21 years. A number of times I have had one of the homeless press a one-yen coin in my hand but yesterday was a "first" to me. We had a few extra packs left after the delivery and rather than take them home, passed them to one of the homeless men still lingering in the area. Imagine the surprise when that man came after us, and offered this rose. wrapped up and tied with a red ribbon.

Each time I see it sitting quietly there in my great-aunt's crystal vase I have to smile.
The quote was right.

A gift of a plant ... a gift of a rose ... the gift of friendship

imagine the difference a person can make!

... and a time for every purpose under heaven.....

Or, I might entitle this....

 "Who's in charge here?"

More than once in my relatively short blogging history, I have found coincidences that seem to be orchestrated by a higher being ... the meeting of friends that were, until then, names with e-mail addresses ... on-line friends that share backgrounds, passions, histories and even other friends. Each time it becomes harder to look at these happenings as just a coincidence.

During times when I have a lot to worry about and even sleep becomes a problem, even a small diversion is a real blessing and not to be taken lightly.

With that in mind, out of the blue comes an e-mail from an unknown person by the name of Glenn Okamoto. As one who is a bit more savvy of the internet than I, he has found a picture of the fan quilt made for the ASIJ Gala auction. He has been charged with contributing a block ... or two ... to a quilt being assembled for his future Grandson, and looking for advice ... or help ... or both.

Well, how could I not help? Each of my grandchildren has been met with a quilt. I can only think of how that little one will feel, coming into a world of love and care and welcome bits of fabric messages from those around him.

We began an exchange of messages back and forth. It was determined by me that the quilt will be made by another relative and that the fabric pieces handed out will actually finish at two inches square. OH MY! That is not very big! No way I could piece a fan block that tiny. It would be all seams. He is allowed more than one square. Could his squares be combined to a larger block? Well, maybe ... No one knows the vision of the finished piece in the mind of the quilter.

So, once my Cub camp was over, I returned to our discussion and we came up with the fan, a Japanese kite, and the Okamoto family crest.

Here are the pieces I was able to come up with and post to Glenn, hoping they would satisfy the requirements for the quilt. Today he notified me that they had arrived in the mail and gave me permission to share the story. He also promised me a picture of the quilt when assembled and ... I hope ... there will be a family picture with the baby and the proud Grandpa.

The diversion has given me a bit of creative challenge, knowledge of wood sorrel as a family crest, and a new friend across the pond in California. During these few weeks, a few wrinkles in the road of life have been somewhat smoothed and I was able to get a bit more sleep. Was there a bigger "purpose" here? Maybe so. Who am I to judge? But I know who I will be thanking in my prayers.

My May read is now a block

The May read for the Quilter's Book Club was "These is My Words" ... the Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine. 1881 - 1901.

Written by Nancy E. Turner.

When I was a kid, I hated history. To me it was nothing more than memorizing dates and spelling strange and impossible names of people and places.

I do remember the 4th grade teacher reading us "Johnny Tremain" which, though I hated the teacher, loved the story and could hardly wait for the next chapter. I was ever so careful not to do anything that might cause me to be sent to the cloak-room during that time of day. It took many years for me to realize that the stories I loved were history made real.

This book is a dose of history that takes you there. Our book for this month is continuation of the story. Mine is somewhere in the post and I am very much looking forward to it.

I made a couple of drawings of possible blocks but in the end, I decided on this block I found in Jinny Beyer's The Quilter's Album of Blocks and Borders, picked partly because the name was "The House that Jack Built". I had thought of something with a log cabin feeling and though it is rather more simple than other blocks, I was able to use my feature fabrics and add the heart fabric at the center. This is my 16th twelve-inch block and as soon as I find enough space, I want to lay them all out and see how they look together.

If you like the challenge of thinking up a quilt block each month to go with a good read, you should check out Susan's blog. (Even if you don't care to make a block, the suggestions to read are outstanding).

I have had another challenge over the past week through a request coming from someone who found a picture on one of my old posts. If he agrees, I would love to share the story here.

My cacti have been putting on a wonderful show.

Some of them are blooming for the very first time and some are regulars.

These only last a few days but there are buds coming up for later enjoyment.

My step tansu has flowers on every level.




The big red flower was a first bloom.

The white flowers are the second group to open and last a long time. The tall cacti on the left of that one has a halo of tiny red flowers earlier at the end of winter and the spiky cacti on the right is in full bloom now with a promise of more buds to open.

The Easter cactus missed Easter but I am happy it survived the heavy snows of the past winter ...


As it lives all year round out on top of the air conditioning unit on the balcony.

The prickly pear next to it had a rough time and I don't know if it will bloom this year. Usually it blooms nearer the end of the month.

Last fall, I admired a beautiful shrubby plant with white flowers and variegated leaves in a neighborhood garden. This past week, that neighbor called to me as I was passing on my way to the station saying there was a pot of that plant waiting for me to take home and enjoy.

Sure enough, as I returned home later in the day, the pot was sitting just outside their gate in a plastic bag. I am thinking of making a table runner for that couple. I have no idea what their home is like but they must have a table for eating and may even have a geta box in their genkan. I am wondering what size runner would be useful. If anyone has a suggestion, please share with me. I am thinking of something bigger than a place mat but not so big that it might not fit the table. I suppose a small quilt for on a sofa would work but I don't even know if they have a sofa or if their home is more traditional Japanese style.

I think it will be fun to come up with a thank you gift.  That is one aspect of quilting I really enjoy.

The flowers are happy

Last night it began to rain and it is still

raining today. My plants are all happy for a good drink.
The small pond that used to gather in front of my gate is now gathering to the south and north ends of the street. We can actually walk 15 to 20 paces before we start wading.

I am glad to get the rain over with because Cub Camp begins Friday night. While Boy Scouts can camp in the rain, managing a group of cubs who come with parents and siblings ... and trying to convince them that scouting is fun ... is a whole new ballgame.

Meanwhile, I am preparing a craft to teach the cubs on Saturday. The camp has a Harry Potter theme so I will have the classes making owl neckerchief slides.

That involves cutting about 150 slices of wood for the body. I will let the kids cut the eye pieces and the bamboo ring for the back.

Yesterday I managed to cut about 20 slices so I have a long way to go. I have to do the task outside and sure do wish I had a friend with a band saw. I remember doing this in years past once I arrived at camp, now I am feeling my age and wondering if I can find a few boy scouts once I get there to help out ... but I really don't want to risk being un-prepared.

When I returned from camp last week, I found the little + quilt on the trash-bin counter was covered with stains.  Some were coffee but the others looked like some kind of jam that was dried in black blobs. I washed it three times but the stains all remain. What is rather amazing is that there is a 4' x 11' ceramic plate on that 7' x 11' space so not a whole lot of area for making spills. I used to have a natural keyake wood tray on that counter but it disappeared during last summer's trip. I can only surmise it got pushed off into the top trash bin.

Well, not that I just love that + pattern but while I was on a roll, I made a new little topper which I will save for when guests come. Maybe the little bin to the left  would like a runner too. Actually, that is a narrow unit of stacked drawers with pet things (inside and on top)... sticky rollers, bird seed, dog treats, Nikko's clothing (to be used to protect visitors from dog hair when they come inside) and some spare toys that won't fit in Nikko's toy box.

  This one got a dark binding. Maybe it won't show the spills as much.

Anyway, I will save this one for another day.

I found a pattern I'd really like to use for Ben's big-boy quilt but am still trying to come up with enough purple and lime-green fabric. I really don't want to begin something until I can see it through. I just don't have room to house UFOs.

Meantime. I am trying to find a good block for the latest book club read.

This is what is enjoying today's rain.


These flowers are growing along the wall  outside the rice store lady's garden.

The red ones are the same as I have along my wall.

Each time I walk along the street on my way to the corner and the train station, I pull the weeds among the bulbs. Once the red flowers are finished there will be plenty of seeds. I collect them and have a few places to put them in other weedy neighborhood spots.

Among the red flowers are these purple ones with three petals.

In our last house, we had some coming up here and there in the lawn. I have no idea what they are. Even my Japanese plant books don't have pictures of these two plants.

Both grow from tiny bulbs.

The purple one is a very short bloomer. I tried to get a picture on Sunday on my way to church but they had not begin to open at 8:am when I walked past.

By three in the afternoon, this is all that you can see, the petals having rolled down to the center. By the next day, it is an invisible green stub that will end up a seed pod.

The leaves of both plants look like the "dragon's beard" grass that is popular in Japanese gardens.
I think the little flowers are a pretty addition to any weedy strip.

And this is what is blooming in my little bedroom/greenhouse.


I think that flower pot cup could stand a washing but I hesitate to disturb the cactus.

I think these are so pretty.


They bloom a long time and look like twinkling stars.

I see more flower buds coming on a number of cacti. The white one that has already bloomed a few weeks ago is getting new buds.

The Easter cactus is about ready to burst into bloom too. (a bit late, but it survived out in the cold and snow this past winter).

Well, blogging break should be over and camp prep resumed. I was hoping the rain would finish by now so I don't have to add sawdust to the dog hair that is already taking over the house. Sigh!

Blogging buddies

As my four hundredth post nears, I can't help looking back over the years since my son turned my paper diary into a blog. I still keep my paper diary much as before, printing out a picture of each finish to paste on the page and writing in details like date and size and title or purpose. Sometimes I have added a snip of fabric that was used. That poor book as undergone countless repairs as it was never intended as a photo album. At one point in the not-to-distant future, I will need to find a second edition.

One thing that has changed is building a relationship with so many wonderful blogging buddies. It isn't just answering comments, but the exchange that goes back and forth between the posts. There are kindred spirits out there. A few I have been lucky enough to meet in person. Many more are never far from my thoughts.

This brings me to one of my longest friends,
Irene in Texas. Long ago we both belonged to the "Slowpokes". (and that will explain a lot about this post).

More than a year ago ... yes I am slow so these are not yet UFOs...I began to make blocks to represent each of my blogging friends. I call them "followers blocks"but they are really little reminders of my special friends.

It was a whole year ago that I received a note from my friend Irene, sending me these darling little hexie flowers. I was to use one on her block.  Now, I have been teasing her weekly for the past four years or so because on her "One Flower Wednesday" posts, she more often than not, shows more than one flower. Of course, with flowers this small and precisely constructed,  you would have to make more than one a week to get anything the size of a quilt.

Well, at first I was thinking in terms of a cute pink house. If you have visited her blog you would know why. That house is not just sitting there but is decorated differently for each season. Then, when the flowers arrived I began hunting up fabric with a number print. Finally, I found a pack of four cuts of numbered fabric. It isn't exactly what I had in mind and the #1 is a bit hard to find, but one year is enough for a slowpoke to make just one eight-inch block.

So ... one more block added to my little collection.

Thank you Irene for all these years of friendship and taking my ribbing. Maybe one of these days .....
we might meet in person.



Maybe the pink wasn't the best choice because the letters rather hide the outline of the triangles against the background.


Another interesting blogging aspect is the way my friends out there solve mysteries.

Growing up in Northern Ohio, I am pretty familiar with plants that grow in that zone but often find things growing in my own garden that I have no idea what they are or how they got there.

Last post I put up a picture of these mystery flowers in the hanging pot on my gate.

It is a mystery no more. Jean from All Points of the Compass knew what it was. Rhodohypoxis baurii , is native to South Africa.

I found out more information on line and even some advice as when to re-pot them. Thanks Jean.

Here is another mystery bloomer.

This has been planted from seed and has a small bulb.
There are multiple flowers on one stem and have begun blooming last week.

The rice store garden wall has a strip of them blooming in the three or four inch strip of dirt at the base of the wall.

They also grow in the dirt strip at the base of my wall (the one that was saved by the road-pavers) .

Finding information in English on the plants in Japan is not easy. Often I find a picture and the Japanese name and if the Latin name is included, I can learn more.

Years ago, I wrote a handbook for the Scouts to use for identifying plants, as it is part of the advancement trail and very little in English  can be found. Even in the "Park for Nature Study"(part of the National Institute for Nature and Science) plant names are only posted in Japanese. A few of my Troop's Scouts have done Eagle projects of putting labels on trees and plants in city parks in not only Japanese but with Latin as well as English common names. Since I grew up learning the Latin names of local plants, I find it fun to see how those familiar ones relate to their cousins in other parts of the world.

The above flower also comes in a white version.

These are such pretty blooms and thrive on neglect.

Who could ask for more. I'm glad they didn't get covered with asphalt.

 And, speaking of something thriving on neglect, these hen and chicks toss out flowers with gay abandon.

A few broken off runners found a new home in a vacant pot and seem to be celebrating.

So, my blogging friends,  though I may seem to be neglecting you, I hope you are thriving too, and send you this virtual bouquet of mystery flowers in celebration.

A finish at last

At last the runner is finished.

I will call this one "Thinking of Irene, the Hilacha Queen" I will probably be wearing those little threads (along with the dog hair) for months to come!

Nearly every one of these fabrics has been used in some other quilt. My grand kids could probably play "I Spy" with it.... something from the very first quilt down to the most recent one ... and I wasn't even trying to fit them all in either.

Of course, it's companion on the trash bin/counter is now in need of a washing. (Ah, life in the Fukuda household!)

Now I will have to think of something else for a take-along project. My #2 Grandson needs a "big boy quilt". Even if it fits his bunk, he is closing in on his teen years and probably outgrown that alphabet quilt I made so many years ago.

The trouble is, his color choice is purple and lime green. The quilt I made for his brother was blues and greens and I didn't even ask his preference. I was able to go to my stash and make blocks using lots of scrap fabric, only buying something for the borders. BUT ... purple? Not so many pieces and most are floral prints. Of course, I can't imagine my dear Ben complaining about a quilt I have made him but still.... Then, there is the lime green. I have two bins of greens but very few fall into the lime category.

When I was at the quilt show, I looked through the cut fabrics for sale with Ben in mind but didn't even come home with one new piece. Even the + runner has only a few purple blocks and no lime green.

Another little cacti has bloomed. I thought I might miss it all together because I was away at a Scouting event, but it has lasted a few days. The white one is still in full bloom since the last post but the yellow one beside it only lasted two days.

I noticed buds on another two getting ready to open before long.

These little flowers are in a hanging pot on my gate. They are only a few inches high and come from bulbs but I have no idea what thy are.

Some are dark pink, some light , and some variegated.

They probably need to be re-potted when they are finished blooming.

A neighbor has an entire fence crawling with this rose. It only blooms once in the spring and then is finished. I grew up with roses lasting all summer and I can't imagine my father giving  that much space to something with such a limited blooming period.

I notice the roses that are doing best here are growing on tall bushes.

Another house between my home and the train station has four or five very tall bushes that even kept their flowers through the winter. Those are not climbers but they are now in full bloom. I have tried growing roses several times but have had not much luck and suspect the soil is too acid for them to do well. Miniature roses in planters do have some luck and I may give them another try one of these days.

The small flower shop near my home has a wide selection of blooming plants that would make any garden happy. If only I had a garden space with sun I might be spending more than I can afford.
Meanwhile, cacti in my roof greenhouse will keep me happy.

The sun is smiling.

Remember when you were a kid and you put that sun up in the corner of your picture, wearing a smiley face with rays shooting out? (Of course when the teacher gave you a D minus minus minus there was no smiley face even though it looked like the sun).

Golden week has begun in Japan and in spite of a few rainy nights, we are enjoying lovely sunny days ... smiley face and all.

The morning started out very early with a trip into town to the American Embassy to get our family signatures notarized. You might think that was an easy thing ... but you need an appointment several weeks ahead. Then you need lots of identification to prove who you are. Fine ... I have a passport and so does my husband but... I have not always used my "real" name, which is "Julia", or my husband his real name which is "Ryusuke". I have gone by Julie since I entered school and hated to be called Jul-yuh. Paul's Christian name is not on his passport or birth certificate but it was used as "R. Paul Fukuda " in the business world, being a whole lot easier for non-Japanese to figure out how to pronounce. It took a whole lot of talking with assorted Embassy personnel before we could get the business taken care of. I guess I should tell my grand kids to use their real names on all documents. Even my social security cards... before and after marriage had "Julie" on them. Of course the Embassy told us those are not identity cards ... they did look at a picture identity card to the Tokyo American Club, however. 5,150 yen later we were happily out of there!

Last night I put the final border on my + runner somewhere between choir practice and home.

Here is the flimsy hanging on the fence in the park. Then I came home and basted the sandwich ready for quilting. I thought I might do some applique in the empty border spaces but the more I look at it, the more I think quilting will be enough. It is happily in a hoop awaiting the first stitches.

My cacti seem to be enjoying the sunny days. The little red flowers are still opening and last quite a while but the larger ones are only good for a few days at the most.

If they bloom on a camping weekend, I miss them and will have to wait another year.

One Golden Week I was attending a Scouting event in the states so I put all the cacti with buds on a tray and brought them down to the coffee table, leaving my husband with my camera and instructions to snap a picture.

Actually, he took a beautiful shot that was used as wallpaper on my old lap top until it died.

American Dogwoods, Cornus florida, have become quite popular on Tokyo, even as street trees. I think it is a good idea because they offer plenty of shade in the summer after the blooms are gone, they don't grow so huge so as to need extensive pruning and thus don't interfere with the power lines, and the seeds are pretty in the late summer and attract birds. And leaves turn red in the fall.

Lately I have noticed what seem to be hybrids with pink-tinged white bracts, dark pink bracts, and recently these cute tiny flowers with the bracts remaining connected in the center.  The street to the station has several of this variety.

There is also another young dogwood that bloomed for the first time this year. It was a first for me because the flowers had multiple bracts overlapping each other.

This picture doesn't really do it justice but you can notice the multiple bracts. Some of those flowers had eight and some had twelve or even sixteen.

The center flower was not yet visible. I will have to keep an eye on this tree.

The school where I sometimes teach has a "Dove Tree", or sometimes called a handkerchief tree with just two long hanging bracts, a native to Western China.
There would be no problem filling a May basket with flowers today.

I hope your day is a smiling one too.